BBM updated to allow you to ‘Find Friends’ on the service or invite others

BlackBerry Messenger got an important update today. Rather than have to share a PIN to chat with another BBM user, we now have the ability to search for our contacts via a 'Find Friends' feature. Handy, but like most things BBM, it may be too late to the party.

The Find Friends utility will pop up when you first install the app, but is also available to existing users. Under the “Invites” menu, FIndFriends has made it’s home for use whenever you like. The feature is in the newest version of BBM, which is available now. If you don’t see it right away, BlackBerry says it will be rolling out in the next 24 hours or so.

This works with your contacts that already use BBM, or those who don’t yet. Those who do will simply be added to your BBM contact list. Those contacts without BBM will be sent an invitation, at your request. Handy, but too late for anyone to care?

This is a feature that comes standard on just about any social app. From Twitter to Facebook, Hangouts to — well, anything — this is standard fare. BlackBerry is once again behind the times, and trying to make it seem as though they’ve caught up. They haven’t. Finding friends on BBM is great, so long as your friends still use it after perusing it when it came out, then getting back to reality — and messaging apps people use. BlackBerry is also noting they have a refresh to the app coming up soon, but offer no timetable for release.